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Topic: Why I'm Asking Santa for a 6D (Read 4364 times)

Just wanted to share a few thoughts on the 6D, given all the negativity about it, specifically why I'm interested in getting one. I shoot primarily with a 5D Mark II. I use my camera for snapshots sometimes, but mainly for landscape work and travel. On my honeymoon I took a minimalist approach and we just brought my wife's Rebel T2i with us to Kaua'i. I shot with it a bunch and enjoyed the lightweight and simplicity. When I got back from the trip, I thought about investing in my own Rebel package for travel, but never got around to it, mainly because it would likely involve some new lenses in addition to a body.

When I started looking at the EOS 6D, just out of curiosity, I quickly realized how it would fit the bill well for travel. The main complaints I see around the web, including in forums here, are about the autofocus. A couple thoughts on this: first, during the film era, only the highest-end cameras had a large amount of autofocus points, 45 on the 1V and 3V. The last ELAN to be released had 7 points. 7. Just because you can put more autofocus points into a body doesn't mean you need to. I have 9 autofocus points on my 5D Mark II. I shoot with one. I only shoot with one on my 20D. No, I don't do sports, no I don't photograph children at play. I tend to believe, though, that a camera is a tool and different tools are designed for different purposes. I think that the 6D's autofocus system is going to be perfect for me AND represents an advancement for Canon. Second, people married to numbers may be surprised by the concept that there's more to an autofocus system than points. The 6D can reportedly autofocus in -3EV conditions. That's a one stop improvement over the 5d Mark III and a two stop improvement over the 5D Mark II. I fail to see how this is an antiquated system.

Additionally, for travel and many other applications, size and weight matter. The fact that Canon placed a full frame sensor into essentially a 20D body is impressive to me. With a prime on it, I could shoot with that thing for a week straight. I would surmise that travel is where most people's home SLRs get the most use and that's what the 6D is, a high-end consumer SLR. In my opinion, it's the best SLR camera on the market for travel for these reasons. It's also telling that it was released near a lightweight L zoom and an image stabilized fast wide prime, two perfect companions on a trip to Europe.

Before some accusations start flying, I'm not a Canon apologist. If I were buying my first digital camera today, I'd buy a Nikon. But if I were an amateur photographer with a D5100 and one or two lenses and, like many camera owners, tended to only take pictures when traveling, the 6D would hold a lot of allure.

Maybe we need to get away entirely from the direct Nikon/Canon comparison? I talked with a pro landscape guy recently who shoots with the D800 and he said he wishes Nikon had an offering comparable to the 5D Mark III that he could supplement his D800 with. He didn't say, "I wish my camera had the same features," rather he saw them as different tools. I think with lenses, top of the line cameras, and entry level cameras, comparisons are easily justifiable and they typically are designed for parallel purposes. But for the camera bodies in between, I think we all need to keep an open mind that different camera owners use their tool for different reasons and Nikon and Canon are both actively doing market research to find niches for new tools for our toolboxes. All this said, the 6D may very well fall victim to Canon's failure to differentiate the 6D from the D600 through active marketing, and that is definitely a problem.

I'd appreciate any thoughts you all have on what you look for in a camera for travel and whether you agree that the 6D is well suited for that purpose.

I got mine yesterday afternoon, so I haven't had much time to toy with it.

But I walked around in my neighborhood for about an hour with it last night with my nifty fifty. I left when it was still light out and made it back when it was dark. It shoots really well in low light. (I'm coming from at t3i so this camera is going to sound amazing to me, I'm not sure about 5d Mark ii users, but I think you may enjoy it as a full frame uprgade from your t2i)

What kai said in his review for digital rev is pretty on key too. I think if you're coming from a 5d, you probably won't be blown away. But for those upgrading from the rebel series will like it. I love that All the buttons are accessible by the right hand. Its light, simple, and quick. but it feels way better than the t3i in my hands, but not quite as bulky as a 5d. (but they are pretty close). It's a nice camera to hold when you're on the go.

I can run around like a crazed lunatic in the woods and take photos with one hand, so its perfect for me. The wifi is pretty cool too, haven't messed with it too much, but i did control it with my droid.

thats all I got at the moment. I probably wont get to toy around with it until the weekend (blast ye work!!!!)

But i'm starting to see reviews surfacing, so I wouldn't rush into anything. Get the camera thats best suited for your needs. I like landscape/city photos, and also like to shoot video. So I'm pleased with it so far.

I thought the autofocus worked pretty well. It could be better, but I usually like to keep it on manual focus anyway because I'm cool/stupid like that. It may not be the best for action photos, but if you're someone that likes to take their time setting up landscape shots, it should work fairly well.

I think your reasoning is logical... plus the 6D's new GPS and Wifi might be really handy if its mainly used traveling. You could sync it to a phone or ipad and family can watch what's on your LV, and it lets you view whats stored on the card and whatnot. I'm considering whether it would have been the better choice for me over the 5d3 since I dont really require the build quality and low-light or AF of the 5D... but who ever buys the most practical Canon product

Theoretically, even if the 5D mkiii were the same price, the 6D STILL might be the better option because of its smaller size, weight, wifi... and lacks nothing you really need, right

I do not see huge different in sizes btw 6D vs 5D III or 5D I II. You gonna need RS-7 strap regardless.

I wish they make FF mirrorless that allow user to swap lenses. I don't mind getting some more pancakes(wish list 50mm f1.4 & 14-24 f2.8 pancake)

Sony's doing one for $2,800 and it uses ziess lenses, but I really wish canon would do the same.

But to add another comment, Im really happy to see the 6d out, it is the perfect enthusiast camera! Now I get why canon is re-vamping all the primes, so enthusiasts, can have good primes without buying L. Having all the buttons on the right side, having a wide prime, and having IS will make the perfect one handed shooting combo. So it's great. For you however, I don't know how the af will pair with your zooms for travel and walk around. But, if you love your primes enough (which I bet you probably do), then this will work great. The only issue I think you'll find (don't get me wrong, I shoot sports with a canon rebel xs with 7 af points), is that if you bring your camera up to shoot (a bicyclist in The Netherlands for example), you may have af tracking issues with your 24-10 or 70-200. But regardless, I really love this camera. If sports didn't prioritize themselves over street shooting, I'd get one

The only problem is if you compare it on paper to the D600... but in hand in the real world, like Kai said theres not much in it.

I agree that when you look exclusively at what has traditionally defined cameras at different price points, the D600 looks like it smokes the 6D. Where I think the 6D sets itself apart is through the non-traditional features, like the GPS, the wifi with apps for common smart phones and the iPad, and all this in a smaller more portable package. Canon is in trouble on the point-and-shoot front and they're aware of it. We've seen more of a focus on high end point-and-shoots recently I think because smart phones have fairly capable cameras in them and have the integrated ability to interact with social media, hugely important to teenagers and folks in their 20s and even 30s. Canon, rather than being stagnant as many on here claim, seems to be getting out in front of the problem with the 6D features, integrating the SLR into wireless and social media tech.

I totally agree with you. This camera isn't aimed for the pros. It's aimed for the guy who likes taking photos on vacation or travel, has worked for a few years and has a bit more disposable income now, and can graduate from the Rebel series to a FF sensor without feeling absolutely horrible about the price.

That's me! I've sat on a Rebel camera for 4-5 years waiting for FFs to drop to a half reasonable price that I can justify for an occasional hobby. I am going to get this camera in time to take pics of my newborn, although (to be honest) what I am really excited about is taking travel and landscape photos while on vacation.

For that purpose, this camera is going to be ideal: low weight, GPS, few focus points (I only use the middle one anyway on a separate button so I can expose separately), and great image quality. Also, during travel, I often stay out late, so the ISO performance is going to be really helpful. I hate flash, so not having it is going to be a plus and with the ISO performance I won't even need it. Also, I dislike tilt screens (they add weight and bulk, seem flimsy and gimmicky - I always found a way even with old film cameras to take the shot I wanted).

My only complaint is the viewfinder, but oh well... I'll deal with it. And I think wi-fi is going to be useless, but we'll see...

It's aimed for the guy who likes taking photos on vacation or travel, has worked for a few years and has a bit more disposable income now, and can graduate from the Rebel series to a FF sensor without feeling absolutely horrible about the price.

I couldn't agree more. I think the 6d is the enthusiast camera, and I don't mean that in a bad way. . I'm glad I purchased it (so far).

And though the d600 looks way better on paper, but I think they'll give similar results. (minus the oil spots on the sensor for canon)

It's aimed for the guy who likes taking photos on vacation or travel, has worked for a few years and has a bit more disposable income now, and can graduate from the Rebel series to a FF sensor without feeling absolutely horrible about the price.

I couldn't agree more. I think the 6d is the enthusiast camera, and I don't mean that in a bad way. . I'm glad I purchased it (so far).

And though the d600 looks way better on paper, but I think they'll give similar results. (minus the oil spots on the sensor for canon)

Ditto. I don't expect anything but a premium "enthusiast" camera. So when mine shows up, I'll see if the AF is better than my recently departed 5D2 and the ISO performance similar to 5D3. If yes on both accounts I'll be good to go and enjoy the lighter weight and smaller size. Basically a FF 60D on 'roids.

Personally I don't care if a product is aimed for amateurs, professionals, my mom or my rabbits - if there are no hard limitations (like too few fps for hardcore sports shooting with available light) then an able photog can work around most issues. Better gear might give a higher keeper rate and of course that matters for professionals from a pure profit standpoint, but that's about it - don't let marketing get you :->

It's aimed for the guy who likes taking photos on vacation or travel, has worked for a few years and has a bit more disposable income now, and can graduate from the Rebel series to a FF sensor without feeling absolutely horrible about the price.

I couldn't agree more. I think the 6d is the enthusiast camera, and I don't mean that in a bad way. . I'm glad I purchased it (so far).

And though the d600 looks way better on paper, but I think they'll give similar results. (minus the oil spots on the sensor for canon)

Ditto. I don't expect anything but a premium "enthusiast" camera. So when mine shows up, I'll see if the AF is better than my recently departed 5D2 and the ISO performance similar to 5D3. If yes on both accounts I'll be good to go and enjoy the lighter weight and smaller size. Basically a FF 60D on 'roids.

Same boat here-- owned a 5D2 until recently and when the 5D3 came out, it looked great-- but I couldn't justify spending that much for being an enthusiast who only shoots occasionally.

The 6D seems to hit the right spot for me-- a full frame enthusiast dSLR. 5D3 is definitely more camera than I need.

If the 6D can provide comparable low light results to the 5D3, I'm good-- and hopefully AF is a notch better than the 5D2 (sounds like it definitely is in low light) but I've always been a center point AF guy.

canon rumors FORUM

Now, what worries and makes me happy, is when canon produces their 46mp dslr, their might be some confusion...We'll call the 46mp the 4d

4d>d800(e)5diii>d800(e)5diii<d6005diii<6d(iso)6d~d600

Price, options, and specs are going to throw people off, although these are just from what I've researched, they do make people think. Cause if the 4d is supposed to be the better of the canikon large mp ff, and the d600 and the 6d are supposed to be competition, where does the 5d iii. Fit in???

Although it's kind of crazy, i think me might see a decent price drop for the 5d iii and the 6d. If canon does this, they will have the edge in the camera race. Because the difference between the 5d iii and the d600 is so insufficient, that nobody will switch, except those who want the "pro" 5d title.

This, the new 7d ii and hopefully a large mp rebel/X0d camera, along with the nice new lenses the bring in, will make canon the cream of the crop. A lot of Nikon users are switching over to canon to catch the new lenses, since canons old l lenses predate the Nikon. I'm pretty sure once they heard 14-24, 24-70 ii, 500 f4 ii, 600 f4 ii, 800 f5.6 ii, 200-400 1.4x, and about all the primes, they got ready to switch, especially a measures, because the cheaper lenses use lens adjustable aperatures.